Dragoncycling Across Dimensions
by Lanthes
Summary: This story begins shortly after the events of Running With Scissors and follows Marco and Star's adventures throughout Hekapoo's dimension over the course of an as-of-yet determined length of time with the possibility of occasional trips back to Earth, Mewni, or into other dimensions.
1. Return

Marco sighed as he fell back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling trying to remember what a Sunday afternoon was supposed to feel like. It had been over a week since his time in Hekapoo's dimension had come to an end, but he still felt as if he were living at a much faster pace than the world around him. Household chores, school, movies, video games, and even karate practice all felt so mundane, so menial in the face of riding across plains of fire and soaring over frigid mountain peaks on Nachos. A small smile crept up his face as he thought back to the time when he snuffed out one of Hekapoo's clones by dangling upside down from a chandelier -nearly pulling it from the ceiling in the process- and dropping a water balloon that soaked her from head to toe. He could still remember the look of surprise in her eyes followed by that impish grin as she looked up at him and vanished into a cloud of smoke.

"I can't believe that was almost five years-"

"Marco Diaz!" he heard and looked up to see Star poking her head through his bedroom door.

"Oh…hey, Star. What's up?"

Star pushed the door open and walked up to Marco's bed, leaning over to look him in the eyes "I called your name like five times, Marco. You were really out of it there. Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, sorry. I guess I was just so bored that my brain stopped working." Marco said, sitting up and stretching.

"Well," Star said in a singsong voice, flashing a big smile "Let's kick-start your brain with some sugarittos down at Britta's Tacos. I'm starving!"

Marco laughed. "I'll go with you, Star, but I won't desecrate my culture with that sacrilege."

* * *

Star and Marco casually strolled down the streets of Echo Creek while Star animatedly recalled the time that her uncle Grunt challenged her dad to a one legged race up flag mountain. Marco, however, had already slipped back into his memories. Though his gaze was fixed ahead, he was making this trip largely by muscle memory. Suddenly, Jackie rounded the corner ahead on her skateboard and, spotting the two, rolled to a stop and kicked her board up into her hand.

"Hey, Star! Hey, Marco!" she said, leaning in to give Marco a quick peck on the cheek, "what are you guys up to?"

"Jackie! Marco and I are gonna grab lunch at Britta's. You should join us!"

"Oh, yeah. That sounds sweet. I feel like it's been ages since the three of us hung out together and I could totally go for some nachos." Jackie moved to Marco's side and slipped her arm through his.

Marco jumped at this and turned to look at Jackie. "Jackie?! Hey, what's up? When did you…get here?"

Jackie frowned and shared a look with Star. "Uh…"

"Marco, we have got to get some food into you and get your brain working again."

The trio arrived at the restaurant and the two girls told Marco to save a table while they went up to order.

"Star, what's going on with Marco? He is obviously not okay."

"Yeah…he's been pretty out of it all week"

"Well, do you have any idea what might be bugging him? I mean, he and I haven't really talked much since the dance. I know some crazy stuff went down, but I guess I figured that everything sort of mellowed out since then."

Star had to fight to conceal a cringe at the mention of both the dance and losing Glossaryck. "I…uh…don't think that's what's been bothering him."

"So what do you think it is?"

Star had a pretty good idea of what was bothering him, but she also knew that she couldn't tell Jackie about all the time Marco spent in Hekapoo's dimension. It was difficult for even Star to wrap her head around and she was used to this kind of stuff. "You know how Marco gets sometimes. I bet it's just some little thing that he's freaking out about."

"You're probably right, Star. It might not be anything major, but I still want to know what it is so I can help get him back to normal. If he needs some space I'm fine with that too, but I can't just leave him like that" she said and gestured towards Marco who was staring intently at the empty sky.

Star and Jackie picked up the order and made their way back to the table, both sitting across from Marco. Star gave him a light kick under the table to rouse his attention and the three started eating. Though Marco tried to keep up with the conversation and wasn't obviously spacing out, Jackie and Star knew within a few minutes that the "Marco" conversation had to happen.

"Marco, dude, tell me what's going through your head right now." Jackie said, interrupting one of his glassy-eyed moments.

Marco blinked back to reality and then, seeing the look on Jackie's face, stared at his hands. "I'm sorry. I've been pretty spacey today, huh? I was just thinking about…whether or not I should go to school tomorrow."

"What? Marco, I don't think I've ever known you to miss school."

"Yeah, it's a tough track record to keep. I've been feeling kind of sick since last night, so I thought I might just stay home."

"Well, you don't look sick and you've wolfed down, like, four tacos…plus Star said that you've been quiet all week."

Marco glanced up at Star and she looked back at him with wide, nervous eyes. "Sorry, Marco. I've been worried about you too."

"Well, neither of you need to worry about me. Give me a couple days to get over this cold or whatever it is and I'll be back to normal. In fact, Jackie, once I'm feeling better you and I should go on a date."

Jackie blinked then frowned before sighing and giving Marco a small smile. "Alright, Marco. You owe me a date in a couple of days. Anyway, it was fun hanging out. You should get home and get some rest so you don't have to miss school tomorrow." Jackie got up from the table, gave Marco a quick hug, and said "Star, make sure Marco gets home safe."

* * *

Marco rolled over in bed to look at the clock. It glowered back at him with glowing red eyes. 2:15 am. He had been tossing and turning for hours now and he was beginning to feel suffocated in the soft sheets. Jackie and Star's comments were eating at him. They were right, after all; He hadn't been himself lately. He couldn't be himself when he felt like he was living the life of a stranger here on earth. This realization finally dawned on him and he knew that there was only one answer. He threw off the blankets and hurriedly dressed, packing only a few essentials. His scissors were hidden in his dresser drawer, untouched since he and Star came back to earth. He puts them in his pocket and walks out of his room.

"...ar, Star!" The whispered words came through Star's haze of sleep.

"wha…" Star blearily opened her eyes and, seeing a strange figure standing beside her bed, snatched her wand from under her pillow and readied a spell, "Pile Driver Panda Ex-"

"Star, wait! It's me, Marco." He whispered, quickly pulling his hood back.

The spell faded and Star sighed, falling back into her pillows, "Uhg, Marco! What are you doing? What time is…" she trailed off, already drifting back to sleep.

"Star, Come on, this is important." Marco whispered gently shaking her back awake.

"Alright, alright." Star sighed setting back up in bed, "What is it that can't wait for the sun to come up?"

Marco sat down on Star's bed and looked out through the balcony. "I've been thinking about what happened earlier today and you're right, I haven't been myself."

"Well, yeah. That's, like, crazy obvious, Marco. You've been like a zombie these last few days. In fact, I've noticed that you've been off ever since we came back from Hekapoo's dimension."

"Yeah, that's about right. I've been feeling like I'm not entirely here; like I'm just going through the motions here on earth while my mind is off adventuring."

"I mean, you did spend a lot of time in Hekapoo's realm. I'm sure that it's going to take a while for you to re-adjust to your normal ole Earth life."

"That's just it, Star. I don't want to re-adjust. I don't want to stop adventuring and go back to being boring Marco Diaz."

"Oh! Well, you don't have to worry about that, Marco." Star said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "You and I are still going to go on all sorts of adventures! We can fight monsters, party at the bounce lounge, and explore all sorts of awesome dimensions together. Besides, you're, like, one of the least boring people I know!"

Marco let out a deep sigh and turned to face Star. "You know, before you came into my life, every day was the same. I was the "Safe Kid" who never stood out or did anything. Heck, I spent years just nodding at Jackie every day, but after you showed up I got to live the kind of adventurous life I'd always wanted…or at least, it was the life that I thought I wanted."

Star frowned, her hand dropping away from him. "What do you mean? Do you…not want to go on adventures with me?"

"What? No, that's not it at all! It's the complete opposite, actually. Star, I want to be able to go on adventures every single day and I can't think of anyone better to go with than you. I want to show you all of the amazing places I traveled through while I was chasing Hekapoo and I want to us to find even more amazing places together."

Star's eyes shone in the moonlight. "Oh, Marco, that's probably the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." She pulled him into a quick hug, but when she pulled away she couldn't quite look him in the eyes. Her words came out in a tumble."But we can't just leave. I'm supposed to be here, on earth, to train and learn to be a better princess. I can't just abandon by responsibilities and we both have school -as much as I wouldn't mind missing that. Besides, what about our friends and families? What about…you and Jackie? You finally managed to get together with her and you both seem happy together...right?"

"Star, do you remember when you froze time? It was the most fun that you and I have ever had together. It was one of the best times of my life and it was just us running around doing goofy stuff here on earth."

Star smiled. "That was really fun. I thought my face would get stuck I was laughing so much, but we can't go messing around with time again. You heard what Father Time said. What if we broke time?"

"We don't have to freeze time though. One minute on Earth is two years in Hekapoo's dimension! We could leave here and be back before you've even missed any sleep and we could have the adventure of a lifetime. So…what do you say?"

Star hesitated biting her lower lip, her blankets balled in her fists. "I say…I say that you're my best friend and if going back to Hekapoo's dimension will make you feel better then there's no way that I can make you stay here…and there's no way that I can let you go by yourself."


	2. Nachos

Note on Hekapoo's Dimension: For simplicity's sake, Marco does not retain his adult form from the show, however, moving forward in this story both Star and Marco's time spent in the dimension will persist on subsequent trips. This is to say that they will age differently inside Hekapoo's dimension than they would on Earth or Mewni.

* * *

Star and Marco stepped through the swirling orange portal into Hekapoo's foundry. The sun shone down through the top of the millennia old tree and glinted off of the heavy chains and crucibles. Molten lava pools and ever-burning fires cast wicked shadows across the brickwork and the myriad snake statues seemed to dance in the heat haze. Hekapoo was nowhere to be seen, but on a nearby workbench was a folded black leather vest, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a note that simply read:

Have fun, Muscles! -Hekapoo

Marco warily glanced around the room, keeping one hand on the back of his still balding head. Eventually though, he dropped his guard and, smiling, donned the familiar gear, opting to wear the vest over his traditional hoodie. He then safely tucked Hekapoo's note into his bag.

"Alright. Let's do this th-"

"Squish" Star said, poking at his squishy belly

"Star!"

"Sorry, Sorry" Star said, laughing, "Continue."

Marco made a show of flexing his still scrawny arms. "Just you wait. A little time on the trail and I'll be sporting a sweet six pack and some dangerous guns again."

Star thought about that for a moment, but quickly diverted when she felt the blush rushing up onto her cheeks. "So, what's the first stop on this wild ride?"

"Oh, I think I'll keep that a secret for now. Come on, I have to introduce you to Nachos!"

"I could totally go for some nachos right now." Star said following Marco towards the main door, "A little midnight snack…or is it lunch time here?"

"No, Star -though I am kind of hungry too- Nachos is my dragon-cycle. She and I have been through a lot together and it's time you two finally got to know each other."

Marco and Star walked towards Nachos who was waiting patiently, curled up on the hard-packed dirt outside the foundry, basking in the sun. Nachos lazily opened an eye and, seeing Marco, lifted up into a lazy stretch and nuzzled at his neck.

"It's so good to see you again! Did you miss me, girl? Well, we're going to have some fun again and this time I brought a friend." Marco gestured to Star "This is Star Butterfly, princess of Mewni and my best friend."

"Hiya, Nachos!" Star put out her hand as if for a handshake and Nachos gingerly pressed her nose into Star's palm. Star gasped "Marco! Did you see that?! She booped me! Oh, you're such a good dragon-cycle, yes you are." Star said as she scratched her under the chin.

Marco broke out into a huge grin, happy to see that his two besties were officially besties. "Well, no time to waste. Let's go, Star!" Marco said, leaping up onto Nacho's back and grabbing her horns.

Star was practically buzzing with excitement as she jumped on behind Marco placing her hands on his shoulders. "So, how does this work? Do you-"

"¡Vuelemos, Nachos!" Marco yelled. Nachos leapt into the air and soared straight up at breakneck speed racing towards the clouds.

Star's scream of surprise devolved into helpless laughter as they ascended, cresting the cloud-tops. Above, the the sky stretched out in a golden expanse while bellow, the voluminous clouds drifted along lazily offering small glimpses of the land. It was as if the two sailed among giants in a halcyon sea.

Star leaned from the side of the dragon-cycle and steadied herself on Marco's arm as she trailed her hand through the swirling, vaporous mists. Almost at a loss for words, Star whispered "So pretty"

At Marco's silent urging, Nachos banked to the right and slowly descended through the clouds again to reach a normal flying altitude. Without further direction, Nachos entered a wide, circular flight pattern. It was then that the full scope of the land that they would be traveling through became apparent.

Stretched out before them was a vast badlands dotted with small, scrubby trees fighting for supremacy among the craggy canyons and volcanic flows. This barren land was bordered in the North and West by a sweeping mountain range that curved in on its Western edge to send a jagged ridge deep into the heart of the territory. Far to the East a dark, towering blanket of treetops sprawled as far as the eye could see and Behind them, on the southern horizon, the faint, tremulous shine of open water could just be seen reflecting the sunlight.

Marco looked out over the land, feeling as though he hadn't seen it in a lifetime. "See that chasm, Star? That's where I fought the Granite Golem. Stupid thing ran right off the edge while Nachos and I soared across! And over there" Marco said, gesturing to an indistinguishable patch of ground in the distance, "is where the treaty of the five tribes was signed. Oh! And that plateau-"

This sightseeing was interrupted by a low grumble coming from Star's stomach. "Do you remember any good restaurants around here?"

"No restaurants, but if you're up for a picnic I know a place not too far from here."

Star looked around for a moment at the land below assessing its potential for picnicking and looked dubiously at Marco. "I don't know…"

"Trust me, you're gonna love it."

A short flight later, Marco and Star dismounted at one of the few small oases that were scattered throughout the region. The small spring at its center must have, at one point, been much more active as it was surrounded by a shallow, sandy basin. Still though, the spring was ample enough to accommodate a gathering of tall, thin trees with umbrella-like branches and wide, round leaves that dappled the harsh sunlight and made the area pleasantly cool.

The two walked up to the shallow, pellucid pool and Marco began filling their canteens. "This stuff is totally safe to drink by the way. You don't even have to boil it."

Star cupped her hands and dipped them into the water. She shuddered slightly at how cold the water was, but was happy for such a respite from the scorching sun they had been traveling under all afternoon.

Without preamble, Marco shimmied up one of the trees and called down "Catch, Star!" as he dropped down two fist-sized fruits with bright white skin webbed with vibrant purple stripes.

Star caught the first of the fruits and gasped. She looked up at the trees agape and Stammered "I-I know this fruit!"

"Aw…I was hoping to surprise you." Marco said and jumped down to land in the sand at Star's feet.

"No, you don't get it, Marco. These are Cailenas. They're, like, crazy-mega-expensive on Mewni. We only ever got them for super special events -and even then we would share them- and," She looked up again bewilderment on her face, "I've never ever seen a tree full of them!"

Marco had broken out into a huge grin "Well, this is a pretty special day after all. I've never seen these trees outside of this grove, so I guess they're pretty rare even here." He rummaged for a moment in his packs and pulled out a space blanket, laying it on the sand and taking a seat.

Star Followed his lead, cradling the fruit like a baby as she lowered herself to the ground and then gingerly handed Marco a fruit. The two peeled back the thin, waxy skin revealing the dark purple flesh and releasing a sweet, earthy aroma that hung heavily in the air around them.

Star was still deciding the best angle to approach her fruit when Marco took his first bite. "Oh my gosh" he said, juice dribbling down his chin, "Star, you've gotta try this one. It's so sweet! Like chocolate chip pancakes with blueberry syrup!"

Star paused, mouth open, an inch away from her fruit and looked up at him "Wait…" and a broad smile broke out on her face, "Oh, you naive Earth boy."

"Uh…what? What did I say?"

Star took a bite. "Ice cream." She took another bite. "Nachos." She took one more bite. "Chocolate chip pancakes with blueberry syrup. Marco, Cailenas taste like whatever you want them to taste like!"

"What?" Marco took another bite "Mine still just tastes like pancakes, Star. Every one of these fruits I've eaten has been different, sure, but it's the same all the way through. And what do you mean, nachos!? it's fruit! How would that even work?"

"Nobody knows, Marco. Nobody knows, but that's the way it works. I guess you just really want pancakes, so that's what you get."

Marco, not entirely convinced, looked down at his fruit and focused muttering under his breath, "Nachos, nachos, nachos…" He took a bite and came back up, eyes wide.

Star nearly fell over laughing. "What would you do without me, Marco Diaz?"

The two finished of their respective Cailenas and Marco scrambled back up the tree to grab a couple for the road. When he came back down though he also clutched a slightly worn piece of paper. Star looked on expectantly as he unfurled it and smoothed it on the blanket.

"It's an ad for a circus. Mealazabor's Magnificent Menagerie…really? Who came up with that?"

"Oh, Marco! They have dancing ducks, and a pixie parade, and, oh, Marco, they have cotton candy!

"Eh…I don't know, Star. These places are usually either sad or downright creepy."

"Please, can we go? Come on! It'll be super fun! We can play carnival games, ride rides, and eat all their delicious cotton candy!" Star's cheek-marks transformed into miniature cotton candy wisps and she licked her lips in anticipation.

By the time she finished, Marco knew that there was no stopping her. He turned over the flier, making note of the location, then they both jumped on Nachos and headed for the circus.


End file.
